The Owner of My Soul Vol 2: Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

MONIQUE

It’s been 4 months since Sydney and I got back together. The past four months have been absolutely outstanding. Will and I handled the President job better then expected. We released 293 new projects including 53 new military weapons. Sales went up 123%. Our airline project became the favorite and we opened our small airport chain. With Dad and Uncle Tevin back, we assumed our original title. Basketball season is now two months away.

Like I said, it’s been four months since Sydney and I got back together. She moved out her apartment and moved back in with me. Her son has his own room. I’ve been as good a father to him as I’ve been to Tierra. For a while, Sydney and I have been talkin bout marriage. I haven’t quite decided when I was goin to propose, but I was thinking bout it quite frequently.

But one thing has happened the last four months that I almost neglected to mention. Tierra is visiting Monique a lil more often then normal. We had anotha divorce term hearing and things haven’t necessarily gone my way. That’s where things have gotten to the point it’s at. Monique now has a boyfriend and he’s the cause of a lot of problems. Don’t take my word for it. Allow me to enlighten you.

I woke up on a bright Sunday, summer morning. It was about 0715. I turned to my right and saw the most gorgeous woman in the world. I began thinking how unbelievable it was to see her next to me like this. She was by far the last person I ever expected to be with. I kissed her forehead and held her hand. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

“Good morning, baby girl.” I said.

“Good morning, sexy.” She replied. Damn her voice is so sexy.

“Sleep well?” I asked.

“Never slept so good.” She kissed me. Her lips were so soft and luscious.

“I….” I stopped and heard Tierra call for me. “Hold on, Sid, I’ll be back.” I kissed her and went to Tierra’s room. She was crying. “What’s wrong, Netta?”

“I had a bad dream.” She said. It’s hard to believe my daughter just turned 7. She’s growing so fast, it makes me feel old.

“What was it about?” I sat down next to her.

“Mommy.” I raised my eyebrow.

“What about Mommy?”

“Well, you and Sydney were on vacation and you left me with Mommy. Her boyfriend came over and….” She started crying again. I began to put two and two together.

“It’s okay, sweetie. I would never leave you unless it’s out my hands.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“You know that she’s entitled to a weekend every other week, right?”

“Why? What does that mean?”

“Well, because of our divorce, and since she’s still your mother, the judge made sure she was still a big part of your life. So you have to spend every other weekend with her.”

“Can you come?”

“I wish I could, princess, but I can’t. The terms are that she gets to be with you alone.”

“When do I have to see her?”

“Starting Friday. She’s goin to pick you up from here.” I began thinking. “Why do you hate your mother?”

“Cuz she messed up the family. Then when she got a boyfriend, she didn’t pay too much attention to me. I guess I should be thanking her for doin what she did and y’all getting a divorce…now that Sydney is our life.” I smiled as she said that.

“Her boyfriend didn’t spend time with you?”

“He shows that he tries to get along with me, but he keeps tryin to pick me up and wants me to always sit on his lap.” I raised my eyebrow again.

“Is that right? Well, I’ll make sure he doesn’t mess with you anymore.” I hugged and kissed her. “You wanna try and go back to sleep?” She nodded. Okay, when you wake up, I’ll fill you in on what’s goin on today.”

“Just you, me, Sydney and Kendal?”

“Possibly Will, Candace, Karla, and Wesley. But if you want it to be just you and me, we can do that.”

“No, I like that all of us together. Sydney is fun to be around and Kendal is funny. He reminds me of you with some of the things he says.”

“What can I say, I have a big influence on people.” Tierra laughed. “I’m glad you like them, they’re goin to be permanently in your life someday. We’ll discuss that later. Go to sleep.” I kissed her and was about to leave.

“Daddy?” I turned around. “Can you sing my song to me?” I smiled.

“Of course, baby girl.” I sat back down next to her and started singing. Slowly, her eyes began to close. She was knocked out. I kissed her and left the room. Before getting back in bed, I called Monique.

“Hello?” She answered half sleep.

“Wake yo ass up so you can hear me loud and clear.” I told her not wasting anytime.

“Who’s this?” She asked.

“Yo ex-husband.”

“Oh. What do you want so early in the morning?” I can tell she was awake now.

“I’m only goin to tell you this once. That mothafucka you call yo boyfriend betta not come within 200 feet of my daughter.”

“What?”

“You heard me. If that nigga comes close to Tierra again, He’s a dead man. Do I make myself clear?”

“Let me get this straight, you can have another woman around my daughter, but I can’t have another man around her? That’s grimy, K.”

“Mo, the nigga is scaring my daughter. She had a nightmare about him. She told me what he be doin and I don’t appreciate it. So for the last time, the nigga betta not come near Tierra. That’s for his sake and for yours.” I hung up on her and got back in the bed.

“What’s goin on?” Sydney asked me.

“Tierra had a nightmare about Monique’s boyfriend molesting her.”

“What?”

“Comes to find out that he tries to always pick her up and sit her on his lap. The way I see it, if he ever did, I swear to God that it will be the end of his life.”

“You’ve taken lives before, this is nothing new.”

“I gave up that lifestyle. My guns have been put away. So, I had a more painful end for him.”

“You’ll beat him to death with your bare hands.” She said. I nodded.

“If I do that, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“For one, I need you to whoop Monique’s ass for me. Secondly, if somethin ever happens to me, promise you’ll look after Tierra for me.”

“Without question.”

“Thanks.” I kissed her and lied back down. It was Sunday, so I was goin to try my hardest to go back to sleep.

It was noon when I woke up. Will and Candace were at the door with Karla and Wesley (by the way, if you haven’t figured it out, Wesley is Candace son). I watched Sydney open the door. She was fully dressed. They came in. I gave them dap.

“Get dressed, juice, time to go.” He told me.

“Yea, give me a minute.” I went into the bathroom.

“So, Sydney,” Will began, “how’s life goin?”

“Couldn’t be better. I got my son back, I’m with the man of my dreams, and a lil girl that I swear was my daughter. Life couldn’t get any better then it is now. How did your divorce settlement go?”

“I’m under the same terms as Kenny, but if she’s pregnant like she says she is and DNA shows its mine, then I have to give her a mill a year.”

“Do you really thin she’s pregnant?” Sydney asked.

“Probably, but I doubt its mine. Maybe that bastard of a boyfriend.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have had sex with her when we broke up.” Candace stated.

“That’s one thing I’ll neva argue about.” Will agreed.

“Is Tierra awake?” Karla asked Sydney.

“I think Kenny is getting her dressed now.” She told her. They can hear Tierra laughing.

“She sounds so happy.” Candace said. “It’s like she neva thinks about Monique at all.”

“From what Kenny tells me, she doesn’t.” Sydney went into the kitchen and poured some coffee.

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

“Kenny told me that Monique rejects Tierra. Ever since she started dating Kyle, she hasn’t paid attention to Tierra.”

“That’s terrible.” Candace said. I started calling Sydney.

“I’ll be back y’all.” She told them as she came into the room. “What’s up baby?”

“Tierra wants to talk to you about somethin.” I told her as I finished drying her. I started helping her get dressed. “Do you want me to do your hair or Sydney?” I asked Tierra.

“Sydney. That way you can go mingle.” I laughed as she said that.

“Alrighty.” I finished helping her and walked out the door. “I’ll give y’all some privacy as I go mingle.” I closed it and attended to my guests. They were sitting on the couch. Kendal and Wesley were showing Karla a few card tricks.

“What’s goin on?” Candace asked.

“Don’t know, I just let her have her wish.”

“So what’s on the agenda” Will asked.

“Well, we visit the judge to see what he wanted to talk to us about, do a lil shopping, and then do something fun.”

“Karla, Wesley and Kendal, cover y’all ears.” Will told em. They covered their ears. “Listen, Candace and I were talkin bout eitha doin somethin or buying somethin for the kids. I figured I talk to you about it. Make whateva reservations, buy whateva needed, da whole nine.”

“I feel ya. You wanna find out what Chris and Dre have in mind?”

“Bet.”

“Daddy, can we uncover our ears now?”

“Yea, sweetie, we’re done.” They uncovered their ears.

“May I make a suggestion?” Karla asked, practicing her manners.

“Sure, sweetie, proceed.” Will told her.

“Since Sydney and Candace are goin to be a big part in your lives, could they spend time with us while you and Uncle Kenny handle your business? They did miss out on a lot of quality time with Kendal and Wesley, so it’ll give us all a chance to really enjoy each other’s company.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked her.

“Yes, sir, and I think the boys and Tierra would agree.”

“Sounds good to me, how bout you Will?”

“Why not? How long do you want Karla?” Will asked her.

“Is 3 hours okay?” She replied.

“If you can handle missing me for 3 hours.” Will smiled.

“I won’t miss you. I don’t even like you.” She said, laughing.

“You don’t like me? Well, let’s see how you like this.”

He picked her up and started tickling her. Karla started laughing, screaming and saying stop. Wesley tried to come to her aid, but also got caught. Will started tickling him. He yelled stop and couldn’t stop laughing. Kendal put Will in a headlock.

“Oh no you didn’t.” I said to Kendal.

He saw me come at him and started running. I chased him around the house and caught him. I then started tickling him. He laughed and laughed and laughed. He couldn’t even formulate the words to tell me to stop. I then heard Tierra and Sydney coming. I stopped tickling Kendal and gave him time to recover. Sydney was holding Tierra’s hand as they came into the living room. Tierra’s hair was braided and off da chain. She looked so adorable.

“Is that my lil girl?” I said to her.

“Of course it’s me, Daddy.” She said.

“For a second there I thought you were Miss Cleveland. Did you do somethin to your hair” I joked.

“Sydney did.”

“She did a good job. Are you ready to…” I was interrupted as Kendal hit me in the back with a pillow. I looked at him. “Oh you wanna hit me wit pillows now.”

I grabbed a pillow and we started having a pillow fight. I got on my knees to make it as even as possible. I almost won until Tierra jumped in and started hitting me in the back. I gave up as they double teamed me. They started celebrating and dancing.

“Y’all are too crazy.” Sydney said.

“That’s yo son.” I stated.

“And your daughter.” We both smiled.

“Iight, y’all, let’s go. Tierra, you and Kendal are goin with Sydney, iight?”

“Sounds good.” She replied.

“Beautiful. This is the plan, while Uncle Will and myself take care of some business, y’all will do a few thangs together. We’ll meet up at the mall at 430.” I explained to Tierra.

“Ok, Daddy.”

“That’s my girl.” I looked at Sydney, “what car you want to take? Unless you want to take yours?”

“What’s Tierra’s favorite?” Sydney asked.

“The SJ Z-290.”

“Really? Kendal loves that car.” I handed her the key and knelt down.

“Iight, lil bit, you be good and remember your manners. Hooah!”

“Hooah!” She sounds so cute when she does that.

“Love you.” I said as I hugged her.

“Love you too.” She kissed my cheek.

“Ewww, wet one.” I teased.

“That’s how you like em.” She smiled. I winked at her and then looked at Kendal.

“Iight, lil man, you watch out for Tierra. You’re her muscle. Hooah!”

“Hooah!” He sounds like he’s goin to be a drill sergeant some day. I gave him dap and then looked at Will.

“L’eggo.” We left the room and started walking towards the elevator. I turned around and hugged Sydney. “Thought I forgot about you?”

“Crossed my mind.” She said. I kissed her and gave her some money.

“You’ll need this. You have an expensive one on your hands.”

“Kendal ain’t cheap eitha. Thanks baby.”

“I’ll call and check on you in 90 minutes.”

“It’s on.” I kissed her again and left. The elevator was there by the time we reached it.

“What do you think the judge wants to talk to us about?” Will asked.

“It’s hard to tell. What do you think?”

“Most likely something dealing with Monique and Beyonce.”

“Naw, really.” We started laughing.

“Where were we meeting him at?”

“DT Courthouse.” I responded.

“On St. Clair?”

“Yea.” We got off the elevator and went to his car. He drove to the DT courthouse. Judge Cash was waiting for us.

“Good Afternoon, gentlemen, nice for you to finally come.” He began.

“Well, it is Sunday. It’s very difficult getting anywhere on time.” Will told him.

“So what’s this about?” I asked him.

“Well, it has come to my attention that both of you have other women around Karla and Tierra.”

“Right.” We both said.

“This morning, did you make a threat to Monique?” He asked me.

“More like a promise, but I swear it was for a trudious cause.” I said sincerely.

“I’ll decide what’s a good threat or promise to be making.” He told me.

“Anything concerning my daughter is a trudious cause.” I took a step closer and looked the judge in the eyes. “Whatever she told you, let me clarify. I promise you that if my daughter tells me anything else that her boyfriend does, I will beat him to death.” Will looked at me and then the judge.

“Is there a real reason why you wanted to see us?” Will asked.

“Well, Will, Beyonce is pregnant, unfortunately it is yours.” Will sat down and buried his face in his hands. “As for you, Kenny, your divorce case has been looked over by the Board. They feel you’ve been let off a little too easy. As you both know, divorce cases have been made more severe for rich families. Since you both have custody of your daughters, she’s not entitled too much. Of course, instead of them being entitled to every other weekend, it’s now every weekend.”

“What?” We both yelled.

“Don’t get mad yet. Kenny, you all ready know Monique is two months pregnant wit your child and Will you now know Beyonce is pregnant with yours.”

“Whoa, timeout. I didn’t know Monique was pregnant.”

“Well she is.”

“How the hell is she pregnant with my child? I haven’t had sex with her in a long ass time. Over a year I believe.”

“That’s impossible, DNA tests prove it’s yours.”

“I want a retest.” I demanded.

“It’s out of my hands.”

“Put it in your hands.”

“Look, at this moment, it’s your child. So, until the babies are born, you’ll both pay Beyonce and Monique a million dollars a month. After they’re born, it will be 5 a month. Also, whatever Monique and Beyonce want to do with Tierra and Karla, you’ll pay for.”

“This is bullshit.” Will yelled.

“Hey, don’t get at me, I’m just the messenger.” He replied. “The Board decided all of this.”

“For what?” I asked.

“Mainly adultery.” He said.

“That’s even more bullshit. They committed the same crime. Who’s head of the Board?” Will asked.

“Mr. and Mrs. Williams.” Cash answered.

“What the fuck!!! When did Mr. Williams get out of jail?” We both yelled.

“He got out 3 months ago.”

“How did he assume control of the Board?” Will asked.

“That’s not important.”

“That is important.” I stated. “Mr. Williams is our ex-wives’ father. He hates us with a passion. We put him in jail to begin with. Amendment 247 clearly states no prosecution or punishment shall be made for any personal reasons.”

“I didn’t know.” He told us.

“Now that you do, what do you plan on doin about it?” Will asked.

“Honestly, it’s out of my hands. If you want things changed, get your lawyer and start deciding on an appeal. It’s goin to take a while because this situation has to go straight to the U.S Supreme Court, not Ohio.”

“How long will this take?” I asked.

“I don’t know. A month, 6 months, a year, it’s hard to say. This whole thing with the U.S. President might slow things down a bit.” We took a deep breath. “Listen, the sooner y’all send in appeals, the sooner the decision will be made.”

“Is there anything else?” Will asked.

“No, that’s it. I just had to let y’all know what’s starting. So every Friday after work, Tierra and Karla will be at their mothers’ house. She will then take them home every Sunday evening.”

“Thank you, Judge Cash.” I said, upset. I shook his hand and left.

“Preciate it.” Will said as he shook his hand and followed me. I waited for him. He closed the door. I immediately punched the wall, making a crack in the marble cover. “Calm down, nigga,” he told me, “let’s bounce.” We walked straight to the car. He started it up and started driving.

“Let’s make a stop.” I told him.

“Way ahead of you.” He replied.

He started speeding towards the Williams’ mansion. When we got there, we both ran to the door. Unlike any other time, we both were unarmed. I didn’t care. I knocked on the door and tried to stay calm. Mrs. Williams came to the door.

“Hello, Mrs. Williams, is your husband around?” I asked.

“Sure, come in.” She said. I can definitely tell she was not involved in the Board’s decision. “How are you guys doin?”

“Not too well, that’s why we’re here. Sorry for not calling first.” Will said, politely.

“It’s okay, I’ll get my husband.” She called for him. We watched him come downstairs. We stayed calm. We looked into his eyes and could tell he was looking to get revenge on us.

“Gentlemen,” he began, “what do I owe to such a visit?”

We smiled and approached him. He offered his hand. That’s when we turned on him. Instead of shaking his hand, I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“What in the blue hell do you think you’re doin? You don’t think we’re on to your lil game you piece of shit?” I told him.

“You done lost your mind.” He struggled to say.

“Shut the fuck up.” Will said.

“What’s goin on?” Mrs. Williams asked.

“We just had a talk with Judge Cash and your husband is using personal reasons to give Monique and Beyonce more money and visitation. I know it was you that set up the DNA test. You know damn well I didn’t impregnate Monique.” I squeezed a lil harder.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin bout.” Mr. Williams struggled, gasping for air.

“Stop fuckin wit us. You’ve been to jail for it already. Believe me when I say I’ll snatch the life from you.”

“You can’t touch me.” He struggled. He pulled out a restraining order. Will took it and read it.

“Drop him.” He said, sadly. I let go and watched him gasp for air. “You’re playin a game that you can’t win. And don’t forget, we still have a restraining order against you. Don’t get too close to your granddaughters. I promise you that you may not be able to walk anywhere.”

“Please, you’re still a child. You don’t have the skills to win against me.” He laughed.

“Nigga, you crazy.” I said. “We bringin da big guns.”

“You fucked wit da wrong ones.” Will added.

We turned around and walked out the house. I pulled out my phone and called Dad.

“Dad, are you busy?” I asked him when he picked up.

“Yea, I’m in a meeting, what’s up?”

“How long will it last?” I asked.

“10 minutes.” He answered.

“Good, Will and I are on our way. We need to talk.”

“Bout what?” He asked.

“I can’t say right now, but it’s important.”

“Iight, I’ll be in my office by the time you get here.”

“It’s on.” I hung up with him. At the same time, Sydney hit me up. “Yeah.”

“Hey, K, you busy?” She asked.

“Nah, where y’all at?”

“We at Chuckies right now. The kids are playin all types of games. We have at least 4000 tickets.”

“That’s pretty good.” I said, tryin to smile.

“What’s wrong, Kenny?” She asked.

“Nothing.”

“Stop lyin to me. I can tell when you’re lying. I can hear it in your voice.” She told me.

“I’ll explain it all later. Will and I are on our way to Dad’s office.”

“Do we still meet up at the mall at 430?”

“Yea, well, it’s 1515 now, and I don’t know how long we’ll be talkin. We’ll be there, but if we’re late, we apologize.”

“Iight.”

“It’s on, shawty. I love you.”

“Love you too.” I hung up. I rested my head on my hand and leaned on the door.

“So what are we goin to talk to Dad and Uncle Kevin about?” Will asked me.

“With Dad’s and Tevin’s rep, they know people. Supreme Court judges and Board members. Not to mention a way to fight a Board top executive especially when he has a restraining order on you.” I told him.

“What did Sydney say?”

“Nothin much. They’re at Chuckies.”

“Of course. That is their favorite place in the world.”

“Will, what happened?” I asked.

“What’cha mean?”

“We were head over heels in love with Monique and Beyonce, now we can’t stand being around them. What happened? Where did we go wrong?”

“The way I see it, the only mistake we made was giving Candi and Honey the opportunity to drug us. We fell into that trap and we paid for it. Everything else was on them. If you want my opinion, I think it was fate. You look at who we’re wit now, and it’s obvious. Besides, Mo and B followed Mr. Williams plan with no fight put up.”

“Hard to believe they followed.”

I looked at the ring and began to reminisce. The love Monique and I shared wasn’t as strong as I thought. I was easily taken when Sydney came back. Maybe Ma was right. I’ve been in love with Sydney since we were kids. All it took was a kiss to bring that all to light.

“Kenny!” Will called. I looked at him. “We’re here.” I looked up and noticed we were in our reserved parking spots. We got out the car and walked into the building. We approached the lobby secretary.

“Hello, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Smith, how may I help you?” She asked us.

“How you doin, Grace? Are our fathers in the office?” Will asked.

“I’ll call and see.” She called Dad’s office. “Mr. Johnson, your son and nephew is here.” Pause. She then hung up. “They are in the office and are waiting on you.”

“Thanks, Grace. By the way, nice blouse.” I complimented.

“Thank you.” She smiled and watched us walk away. I turned around and winked at her. We went to the elevator and waited. When one came, we went straight to the top floor. We got off the elevator and went into Dad’s office. Dad and Uncle Tevin were waiting.

“So, what’s the big emergency?” Uncle Tevin asked, not wasting anytime.

“Well, hello to you, too, Dad.” Will said.

“Sorry, a lil pressed for time. The PUS wants to make an order.”

Uncle Tevin stated. By PUS, he means the President of the United States. He doesn’t like him, so he calls him PUS.

“Iight,” I began, “peep dis. Do you remember the terms of our divorce that was decided a month or so ago?”

“Yea, why?” Dad replied.

“Today, Judge Cash wanted to see us.” Will included.

“For what?” Uncle Tevin asked.

“For one,” I began, “he didn’t like the fact that I made a threat to Monique. Well, actually more like a promise. Then to go along with it, both Beyonce and Monique are pregnant with our baby, which I haven’t had sex with Monique in over a year.”

“Better yet, just look at the terms.” Will suggest as he handed Uncle Tevin a folder.

“Why did you threaten Monique?” Dad asked me.

“Peep dis, Mo has a man ri? Comes to find out the nigga has it for her and Tierra.

“What?” Uncle Tevin asked.

“Lil bit told me that he tries to get her to sit on his lap all the time and always has to be touchin her. I guess to cop a feel on her. My baby girl is 7 years old and already startin puberty.”

“He who?” Dad asked.

“Monique’s boyfriend, Kyle.” I told him.

“Makes sense.” Dad commented. “So who decided these terms.”

“The Board, headed by Mr. Williams.” Will answered.

“I see.” Uncle Tevin said. “We’ll, we’re goin to pay him a visit. I doubt he’ll change his mind because of forms he has.”

“But we’ll definitely strike fear in his heart.” Dad added.

“You two must comply until we get things changed Kenny, be sure to keep your anger at bay. As long as you can.” Uncle Tevin told me.

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any guarantees.” I told him.

“We’re not expecting you to.” Dad told me.

“Thanks. Let us know what happens.” I said.

“By the way, we’re havin dinner at Tevin’s house and we’d love for y’all to come. Especially your mothers.”

“Sure, Tierra would love to spend time with y’all.” I stated.

“Et tu, Will?” Uncle Tevin asked.

“Fa shizel, my nizzel.” Will replied.

“See y’all dare.” Dad said.

“It’s on.” Will and I said at the same time.

We gave em dap, walked out the office, and went back to the car. I was still a lil preoccupied with thoughts about Monique and Beyonce. We were headed towards the mall to meet up with Sydney, Candace and the kids.

“Kenny,” Will began, “do you believe in fate?”

“More then I thought.” I looked at him, “why you ask?”

“Work wit me here. For the past 3 and a half years, ever since Sid and Candace came back, I always wondered why things happened the way they did. You remember how we were when we were kids?”

I smiled, “yeah, we were somethin else.”

“Well, after they left, we felt betrayed.”

“Which led to our playa ways.”

“Right, but tell me why for some reason Monique and Beyonce come into the picture?”

“To teach us about love and to get our first experience of it.” I replied.

“For what?” I paused and thought about it. He continued, “Kenny, it all makes sense. We’re destined to be with Sydney and Candace. So, in order for us to be truly happy, we had to know the right way to treat them.”

“Which is why we fell for Mo and B.” I added.

“Then when Sid and CeCe came back, we immediately jumped on em.”

“So our marriage was a test run to teach us how to really make a marriage work.”

“Exactly.”

“You know that makes perfect sense.” I agreed. “I definitely feel better about the way things are goin. I see this whole divorce issue a test to see how far we’ll go to be with Sid and CeCe. Cuz at any moment, we could always go back to Mo and B.”

“Sad, but true.” I smiled and nodded.

We got to the mall and waited at the meeting spot. It was about a quarter after 5. We were 45 minutes late. They were also late and I know this cuz they were just arriving as well.

“Sorry we’re late,” Candace began, “Karla and Kendal had to go to the bathroom.”

“Dat’s iight, we got here like 30 seconds befo y’all.” Will responded. Tierra walked up to me and gave me a hug.

“Look what I got, Daddy?” She showed me the necklace, watch and bracelet. “I got so many tickets. I won these. Kendal won a dart gun and chess set. He got 10,000 tickets.”

“Way ta go Kendal. Dat’s my boy.” I stuck my hand out. “Lay it on me.” He gave me a five.

“Are y’all tired yet?” Will asked.

“Uh uh, I want to ride the rides.” Tierra stated, referring to the amusement park inside the mall.

“Yea, me too.” Karla agreed.

“Me three.” Wesley agreed.

“Me four.” Kendal agreed. I laughed.

“Iight, iight, we’ll go to the AP.” I told them. I took Tierra’s hand and she had Kendal’s hand.

“She resembles you so much when you were her age.” Sydney softly said to me.

“I can say the same about Kendal.”

“Yea, I’m beginning to notice. If a stranger was to approach us, they’ll say you’re his father.”

“Can’t argue wit that.”

“So are you goin to tell me what’s been goin on?”

“Of course, when we get to the AP, we’ll talk.” I assured her.

“Iight.”

“That reminds me. Tierra, how would you like to see Grandma and Grandpa tonight?”

“Sounds like a plan.” She said, tryin to be like me.

“Beautiful.” I looked back at Sydney. “Dad invited us to dinner at Uncle Tevin’s house.”

“Good, I sure didn’t feel like cookin.” She responded. When we got close to the amusement park, Tierra let go of my hand and they all started running.

“Be careful, y’all.” I yelled to them. “Let’s find somewhere to sit down.” We sat down and I told her the whole story.

“So how long do you think it’ll take?” She asked.

“No tellin, but my guess is quite a while.” I looked up and spotted Tierra and Kendal in the bumper cars. “Honestly, I don’t care how much it costs for me to hold on to Tierra.”

“I’m not surprised. With Kevin’s genes in you, no matter how many children you have, you’ll want to keep them. Tierra wants nothing else but to stay with ou. Do you remember when she talked to me earlier?”

“Yea, what she say to you?” I turned towards her, showing my interest.

“She poured her heart out to me. She told me how Monique did you wrong and she ruined the family. I asked her how she know and she told me that Natasha told her.”

“Mom told Tierra what happened?”

“That’s what she claims.”

“What else did she say?”

“In these exact words, she said, I love Mommy, I really do, but I love Daddy even more. He’s always goin to be there for me, he’s always goin to look out for me, and he’ll always make sure I’m ok at all times. Mommy starts to ignore me, but Daddy still makes me the #1 person in his life. I know he has to spread his arms to more people like you and Kendal, but he still makes me his top priority when I need somethin. All I want is for you to promise me you won’t hurt him. After she said that, I felt tears come down my eyes. I promised her that I wouldn’t hurt you or her.”

“So she pretty much accepted you as part of the family?”

“Yea, it really meant a lot to me. She then gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, I wish you were my real Mommy. I couldn’t help but smile.” I took her hand into mine. She looked at me and smiled. “Kenny, if only I stayed here with you. I’m sure we…”

“Shhhhh!!” I interrupted her and put my finger to her lips. “Sid, everything happens for a reason. If you stayed, I may have divorced you. Then again, you prolly could have helped me avoid marrying Monique to begin with. Maybe even switched places with her. Anyway, point being, we were meant to be together. Allah knew how I would be and made sure I learned the right thangs so when you came back, we’d be together foeva.” I leaned and kissed her. I then felt a presence around me. It was Tierra.

“Sorry to interrupt, but my head hurts.” She said sadly.

“Come here, baby girl.” I picked her up and lied her head down on my lap. “You ready to go?”

“Yea, but may I have some ice cream?” She asked.

“What time is it?” I asked her.

“Ummm, 6:03 p.m.” She said proudly.

“Which is what?”

“Uh…..1803.”

“Good job baby girl. Nah, you bout to eat. Afta dinner you can get ice cream.” See, I can say no.

“Does Uncle Tevin have a Baskin Robbins?”

“I’m sure he does. He has everything else.” I looked at Sydney. “See if Kendal is ready to go.”

“Iight, I’ll be back.” She replied. She got up and located Kendal. I stood up, holding Tierra, and looked for Will. He was in Foot Locker with Candace. I decided to go ova there to find Kendal and Tierra some basketball shoes. Yea, Tierra plays basketball. I showed her my shoes.

“You like these?” I asked her. She nodded. “You want them?” She nodded again. I looked for her size and sat her down. I let her try them on. “How do those feel?”

“Comfortable.” She walked around a lil bit. “Am I playin basketball this year?”

“Of course.”

“Are you goin to coach this time? You said you would last year, but changed your mind.”

“I know sweetie. I’m sorry bout that, but that wasn’t my call. Remember, we started shooting for Cross Fire III at that time.”

“So are you goin to coach this year?”

“Yes, I’ll coach this year.” She started smiling.

“Are you goin to coach Kendal’s team as well?”

“Yea, I’mma coach his team too. After all, that is your brother’s team. They play right after your team every game.” I told her. I helped her take the shoe off.

“Any otha shoes you want?” She looked at the selection. She pointed to my brand new shoes.

“Those just come out?” She asked.

“Yep, it came out yesterday.” I told her. I grabbed her size and let her try it on. “How’s that?”

“Feels the same.” She commented. “What’s the difference?”

“You’ll feel a lot more bounce in those. You’re able to get off the ground a lot easier. Meaning, your speed will increase and your bounce, ya dig?” She nodded.

I turned around and saw Sydney and Kendal come into the store with a big smile on their faces and out of breath.

“What took you?” I asked Sydney.

“Kendal made me chase him.” She said.

“Ah, those were the days. I used to make my mom do that all the time.” I said. I looked at Kendal. “You need some new basketball shoes?”

“Yep.” He replied.

“Go ahead, help yourself to any thing you want.” I told him. He let go of Sydney’s hand and started looking. “It’s like he’s a man on his own.”

“Well, he’s had your guidance for a few months. You’ve given him quite a bit of push towards manhood and independence.” Sydney said.

“You’re right.” I then saw Will comin towards me.

“We done, how long you gon be?”

“Few mo minutes.” I said. I looked at Tierra. “Aye, baby girl, go ahead and find anything else you want.” She nodded and looked around.

We were done shopping and walked out the mall. Will took his car and I took mine. We went home first to get dressed. These family dinners are very formal. My parents love to dress up, so they love to do it for these occasions. It was about 2000 when we arrived at Uncle Tevin’s house. Our entire family was here. All 300 relatives or so. That’s a lot of damn niggaz in one place. The first peeps we saw were Chris and Dre. We gave dap to them and met up with Ma and Dad.

“Glad y’all can make it.” Dad said to us.

“Can’t talk now, things to do.” Ma said.

“I’ll help.” Sydney offered.

“Thank you, dear.” Ma said. I looked down at Tierra and Kendal.

“Looks like it’s just us three.” I said.

We began walkin around and greeting people. I went into a room with all my otha relatives’ kids.

“Y’all wanna stay in here with everyone else?” I asked Kendal and Tierra.

“Yea.” They both replied.

“Iight, I’ll get y’all somethin to eat.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Tierra said.

I kissed her and rubbed Kendal’s head. I went back into the living room. I met up wit Will and began actin as crazy as always. That’s until I saw someone I didn’t need to see.

“Will, hoe alert at 6.” I told him. He turned around and had a mean look on his face.

“L’eggo say hello.” We walked to them, smiling. “Hello Beyonce.”

“Monique.” I said.

“Hi.” They both said.

“Boys, I’d like you to meet our boyfriends Ray and Kyle.” Beyonce introduced them.

“Kenny.” I said, introducing myself.

“Will.” He had an evil look as he introduced himself. “So, what exactly are y’all doin here?”

“We wanted to see Tierra and Karla.” Monique answered.

“Ever heard of callin?” He asked.

“As much as you don’t like it, I’m a part of this family still.” Beyonce proclaimed.

“75% of the family doesn’t follow yo theory.” Will added.

“Main ones being our mothas and fathas.” I threw in. “Which means if they see you, it’s gonna get ugly.”

“Especially if Sydney and Candace see you.” Will stated.

“So, take our advice and leave. I’ll bring Tierra and Karla to you in the morning.” I said.

“Even though you’re not supposed to spend time with them.”

“But since you wasted your gas to come see them.” I added.

“We’ll do this one favor for you.” Will told em.

I swear, we’re like twins. We add little tid bits that each other is about to say. We think alike, talk alike, and just compliment each other. If I was gay, he’d be my soulmate. Real talk.

“Look, we don’t need your charity.” Beyonce said. “We came to see our daughters.”

“And that’s what we intend to do.” Monique added.

“Please, don’t let me stand in your way of an ass whoopin. I just hope you have a good medical plan or life insurance.” I told them. We moved aside and let them by.

“Should we try and keep Sydney and Candace from seeing them?” Will asked me.

“To the best of our ability. We have to keep Ma and Aunt Keasha away from them, too.” I looked at my watch and laughed. “It’s goin to be a long night.”

We walked to the kitchen. I stocked up on some hot wings. Nothin soothes the soul and eases stress betta den hot wangs. He didn’t have to say it, but I know Will agreed. We took our plate and walked up to the 3^rd floor balcony. We looked at all the people in the house and tried to spot Ma and Aunt Keasha.

“You see em?” I asked Will.

“Ri dare.” He pointed towards the Left Wing. “Now, let’s find Mo and B.

“Got em.” I pointed to the door marked “Play Pen” by the kitchen. “Now, where’s Sydney and Candace?”

“Ummm, good question.” We looked around but couldn’t see them. “You don’t think?” He asked.

“I hope not.” We looked at each otha and started runnin towards the Play Pen, but it was too late. By the time we got there, they had already locked eyes.

“Ahhhh…..” I began.

“Shit.” Will finished. It began to feel real cold all of a sudden. They just starred at each otha.

“Sydney, Candace, allow me to introduce y’all. This is Monique and Beyonce with their boyfriends’, Ray and Kyle.” I looked at Mo and B. “Ova there is Sydney and Candace. Say hi.” I was acting like an idiot. Will tried not to laugh. It wasn’t hard.

“Kenny, is it me or is it cold in here?” Will said to me.

“It’s cold as a bitch, B.” I replied. I then notice Sydney holding Tierra and Candace holding Karla. Ohhh boy!!

“Excuse me, are y’all goin to stand there and stare or show each otha some love?” Will asked sarcastically.

“Get your hands off my daughter!” Monique demanded.

“Ahhh shit.” Will said. We both saw what’s comin. I saw Sydney smile. Well, more like grin.

“Come back lata. We’re a little busy.” She told her in a calm tone.

She started tickling Tierra. The more Tierra laughed, the madder Monique got. I looked around to see where Kendal was. He was playing chess wit Wesley. Watchin them got me thinking fa a lil bit. That soon went away right about……….

“Kenny, bring Tierra to me before I get upset.” Now.

“Get upset. I told you earlier that I was goin to let you see her tomorrow.” I told her.

“Tierra, come with Mommy.” She tried.

“Hey, Mommy, I didn’t know you were here.” Tierra smiled and continued playing with Sydney. For her to not even notice Monique was there prolly set Monique off on the inside.

“Tierra, don’t you want to come wit Mommy?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I’m havin fun wit Sydney.”

“Damn, she told you.” I teased.

“Come on, Beyonce.”

The two walked up to Tierra and Karla and grabbed their arms. Both girls were kicking and screaming. Sydney grabbed Monique’s arm.

“As you can see, she doesn’t want to go with you.” Sydney told her.

“As you can see, I don’t care.” She replied.

“She stays, you go.” She was ready to swing on Monique.

“Get off!!” She pushed Sydney.

I ran up to her and grabbed her, holding her back. Kyle took Tierra’s hand and tried to calm her down. Tierra kicked him in the shin and punched his stomach. Kyle didn’t let go of her hand. He caught his breath and slapped her hand. Kendal ran to her aid and started kicking Kyle’s leg. Kyle punched Kendal in the chest kina hard. All of this happened in a matter of 2 seconds before I had a chance to step in. When I finally had the chance to get over there, Kyle was personally introduced to my fist when I stuck the hell outta him. I neva hit a man so hard in my life. The sound boomed through the entire house. Kyle was on the ground in heavy pain. I picked Tierra and Kendal up. For the first time, I actually didn’t have follow-up hits.

“Don’t you ever in your LIFE hit MY daughter or son!” I looked at Monique. “I warned you, now you know I’m not playin.” I then heard a loud smack. I turned around and saw Ray hit the ground. Will punched the hell outta him.

“Sorry to interrupt yo speech, but he was lookin at you a lil funny. I think he was tryin to get gangsta.” Will told me as he aired his hand. I looked behind Monique and saw Ma and Aunt Keasha. Behind them were Uncle Tevin and Dad.

“What the hell are y’all doin in my house?” Aunt Keasha asked.

“Calm down, sweetie,” Uncle Tevin began, “we invited them.”

“WHAT!!!” Ma and Aunt Keasha were pissed. “Why would you invite these hoes into my house?!” My aunt was definitely pissed.

“Calm down, baby,” Uncle Tevin began again, “we invited them so we could talk. They were SUPPOSED,” he looked at Monique and Beyonce, “to come to us the second they got here.” He looked back at his wife. “We wanted to avoid this from happening, but things didn’t go that way. I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything when we are done.” He kissed Keasha and looked towards Monique and Beyonce. “Ladies, pick yo men up and come wit us.”

They did so and followed Dad and Uncle Tevin into the Conference Room. When they left, Ma and Auntie came in and closed the door.

“What just happened?” Ma asked me.

“Let Tierra tell you.” I looked at my daughter, “sweetie, tell Granny what happened.” I could see the tears fallin down her cheek.

“Mommy tried to get me to come wit her, but I wanted to stay wit Sydney because we were havin fun.” She wiped her eyes, “so, instead, Mommy tried to force me by pullin me out the room. Sydney tried to help me cuz I was screaming. Mommy pushed her and then Kyle grabbed my arm. I kicked him in the shin and punched him as hard as I could. He held on to my arm and hit my hand. Kendal came to my aid by kicking him in the leg.” I comforted Tierra and Kendal as they both couldn’t believe they were just hit by a complete stranger.

“Then what?” Ma asked.

“What do you think?” I said. “A grown man hit my son in the chest and I responded by hittin da fuck out of him.” She raised her eyebrow, “sorry, it just pissed me off. I don’t even hit Tierra or Kendal. They’ve made a few mistakes, but it has neva had to come to that. Fo anotha man to lay his hand on my kids, hell will break loose.”

“Kenny, calm down. I understand why you did that. I just don’t get what your father and uncle wants to talk to them about.”

“Most likely about the new divorce terms.”

“What new divorce terms?”

“It’s kinda complicated. Dad has the file, so he’ll explain it to you.” I looked at Sydney whom was talkin to Candace. “Sid?” I called her. She turned around and walked to me. “You iight, baby?”

“I guess. I’m tryin so hard not to fight her, but she’s makin it difficult.” She told me.

“I know.” I looked at Tierra and Kendal, “y’all iight?” They nodded. Tierra was rubbing her eyes. “Y’all want me to put y’all down?” I asked them. They shook their heads. “Y’all want some hot wangs?” They nodded. “As well as I. L’eggo get us some hot wangs.” I looked at Ma and Sydney. “I’ll be back.”

I walked to the kitchen carrying both Tierra and Kendal in my arms. They both had their heads on my shoulder. I grabbed a plate and kinda struggled to stack some wings on there. I grabbed like 20 of em. We went outside and sat on the porch. They started eating.

“Kenny, may I ask you somethin?” Kendal asked.

“Sure, Lil Pimp, what’s on yo mind?” I said.

“Are you and Mommy getting married?”

“I don’t know, dawg. Do you want me to marry her?”

“Definitely, you’re like the father I neva had.”

“What was it like livin wit yo real dad?”

“It was ok. We did a few things together, but he usually left me with a sitter. I spent an average of 15 hours per week with him.”

“Damn, that’s not smurf.”

“That’s why I wanted to come wit Ma. I didn’t know she landed a cool person like you.”

“Well, I do what I can.” I said, smiling. “Tierra, hit me.” Since I had no free hand, Tierra picked up a wing and fed it to me.

“So are you goin to marry her?”

“Between you and me, I think I will. Don’t let her know though.”

“We won’t say a word.” Tierra stated.

“Do you feel the same way?” I asked Tierra.

“150%. I like Sydney. She’s fun, smart, and funny.”

“You think I’ve been a good father?”

“The best.” She smiled and started coughing. I gave her a lil bit of my drink. “What is that?” She asked.

“Orange juice.” I started smiling. I looked at Kendal, “you want some?” He nodded. I gave him some too.

“It taste funny.” Tierra stated.

“Yea, it does.” Kendal agreed. Day both gun be knocked out. A lil gin and juice will put deese kids scraight to sleep.

“Feel better?”

“Yes sir. I still want some ice cream.”

“Me too.” Kendal said.

“That sounds good to me. I think they have a Baskin Robbins downstairs.” I picked them up and met back up wit Will. He was holding Karla and Wesley. “Aye, B, we bout to go to Robbins, you wanna come?” I asked him.

“You read my mind.” He replied. We followed him downstairs. We put the kids down so they could search for what they want. “My hand stings a lil bit.”

“Mine too. Forgot how that felt.” I rubbed my hand to soothe the tingle.

“What do you think is goin to happen?”

“Don’t know.” I smiled and waved back at Tierra and Kendal.

“We can’t prevent it for long.” Will said, referring to the girls’ fighting.

“I know. Right now I don’t see why they should.” I saw how Tierra had a big smile on her face. “I don’t think it’ll be a good idea for Karla and Netta to see that.”

“At the same time, it might be good to have Wesley and Kendal see their mothas handle em.”

“That’s true too.”

“Is it me or are we getting soft?” I looked at him and smiled.

“Definitely soft. At least before tonight.”

“Yea, I think stickin dem niggaz got us some thug points.”

“Daddy,” Tierra said pulling me. “You have to get some.”

“Why didn’t you bring me some?” I asked her.

“You can’t be lazy.” She told me.

“Iight, you right.” I got some ice cream and sat in between Tierra and Kendal. Will was in between Wesley and Karla.

“I just thought about somethin,” Will began, “pretty soon basketball season starts. What then? You know Karla and Tierra wouldn’t want to stay with their mother till the season is ova.”

“Damn, I didn’t even think about that.”

“Watch yo mouf, Daddy.” Tierra warned me. “Thank you.” She held her hand out.

“Thank you, princess.” I kissed her and gave her $5. “We have to try and get approved by the judge. On home games, while we’re in Cleveland, they can stay with Mo and Beyonce, but on away games they come wit us.”

“Sydney and Candace will watch them. I like.” Will began to smile. “Goin into our 7^th season, we still remain undefeated.”

“No doubt, but if we don’t stay focused, we may suffer our first loss in our entire basketball career.” I warned him.

“This is true, but we can’t dwell on the future.” We were then joined by Sydney and Candace.

“We’ve been lookin all ova for y’all.” Candace said.

“Is that ri?” Will said. “What up?”

“We’re ready to go.” Sydney said, “I have a conference early.”

“Ok.” I looked at Tierra, “you ready to go, baby girl?”

“I wanna hang out wit Grandma and Grandpa.” She said.

“You wanna stay the night or come back tomorrow?” I asked her.

“Ummm, the night.”

“I wanna stay too, Daddy.” Karla said.

“Ma, if they stay, can me and Wesley stay too?” Kendal asked.

“I don’t know. Kenny?” Sydney said.

“Don’t see why not. L’eggo talk to Grandpa and get a clarification.” I gave Sydney my keys. “You can wait in the car if you want.” She grabbed the keys. “I’ll bring Kendal out there if it’s no go.” She nodded. I picked Tierra up and put Kendal on my neck. We went upstairs and spotted Dad. He was still talkin to Monique. Ma came up to me.

“Hey, sweetie, lookin for someone?” She asked me.

“Yea, you.” I replied. “Tierra and Kendal wants to stay here with their grandparents.”

“That’s always lovely. Y’all bout to go?”

“Yea, Sydney has a conference early.” I told her, “but Tierra and Kendal wanted to stay, so I had to see if it was ok with you and Dad.”

“Of course, baby.” She picked up Tierra and took Kendal’s hand. “Y’all wanna stay wit us tonight?” She asked them. They both nodded and smiled. Tierra started playing with Ma’s hair.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” I told her. I kissed her cheek.

“Drive safely, sweetie.” She told me. Sydney came ova to us and gave Kendal a hug and kiss.

“Mind your manners and be good.” She told him. He nodded.

“By the way, what conference do you have in the morning?” Ma asked Sydney.

“The one about the new Mackilis disease.”

“Oh yea, I remember that. I don’t know why I thought someone else was doin that.”

“Nah, I volunteered for it. Thanks fa lookin afta Kendal. I’ll let ya know how it goes tomorrow.”

“Definitely.” Sydney gave Ma a hug. I kissed Tierra.

“Bye, bye baby.” I said to her.

“Bye, Daddy.” I looked down and gave Kendal dap.

“Hold it down, Lil Pimp.”

“I will.” I smiled and turned around. Sydney had the car right out front. I let her drive as I checked my email.

“Sydney, tomorrow I’m goin to send a proposal to the Board about Tierra. Befo I do dat, I need your approval.”

“For what?”

“As you know, we’re still the most dominant playas in the world. Season starts in November, but we’re goin to start conditioning in October.

“Iight. Whatcha need baby?” She asked.

“When the off-season begins in October, I need you to look afta Tierra for the 14 hours that we’re workin out. I’ll pay for anything y’all want to do. If she wants to stay at my motha’s, then she can. Then when the season starts, both of you will come to my away games. Only if it’s coo wit you.”

“Sure, why not. Ever since the extension, how long is the season?”

“106 games.”

“So for 53 games, we get to travel?”

“Yea. Only for this season though. Next year they’ll drop down. No idea how many games.”

“Sounds like fun, but are you doin this because you don’t trust Monique?”

“Somethin like that.”

“I want you to know that I’m sorry for letting my emotions get the best of me. I’m sure the last thing you wanted to see is Tierra and Kendal witness me and Monique go at it.”

“Trust my, you’re the last one that needs to apologize. I actually hit him in front of Tierra.”

“But you know what you were doin that was the sweetest thing?”

“What?”

“You were callin Kendal your son.”

“I was?”

“Yep. It actually turned me on quite a bit.”

“Is dat ri? Well, most of da time I think he is. That’s my lil niglet and I got mad love fo da kid.” I said.

“You’re becoming quite the father figure.”

“I try.” I began thinking. “You know what, stop at Class Six real quick.”

“Why?”

“Tierra and Karla is at Mom’s. I say we have a lil quality time.”

“You read my mind.”

She pulled ova at the nearest Class Six. I got out and looked fo some wine. I then saw someone that I didn’t expect to see.

“I guess you’re thinking da same thang.” Will said to me.

“Well, freaky people think alike.” He replied.

“Fa sho.” He paid for his wine, “see you in the afternoon.”

“It’s on.” I threw dem deuces and paid for my wine.

“I see Will was thinking da same thang.” Sydney said to me as I got in da car.

“Yea, he also knows I won’t see him til da afternoon.” Sydney smiled and drove us home.

We got in da room. Sydney went into the bathroom to slip into somethin mo comfortable. I lit some candles, poured some wine, and played some Najee. Of course I got undressed and took out my earrings. When she came out the bathroom, she was absolutely stunning. She had a velvet red robe on, but under was a velvet red thong and bra.

“Damn.” I was definitely stunned.

“I have to get up at 7, but it wouldn’t matter if I don’t go to sleep.

“I gave her the glass of wine and watched her. “Damn, how did I ignore you all dem years?”

“I was a tomboy.”

“Not anymo, dat’s fa damn sho.”

“I’ve always loved you, Kenny, but knew you wouldn’t want to be with me because of the fact I was your best friend.”

“You still are, Sid. I don’t want anything to change that.”

“I’ve always wanted to know somethin. When I first kissed you, why did you react the way you did?”

“You surprised me. I didn’t know what to do. You were my best friend for years, now you’re kissin me. That was the last thing I expected.” I put my glass down and took her hand. “I wish for a lot of things in my life, but you’re the one wish that I couldn’t be more happy to have. I love you, Sydney, and want to be with you mo den anything.” I leaned towards her and kissed her.

I woke up around 1400 with my handcuffs on my wrist. I began laughing and started looking for the key.

“Lookin fo dis?” Sydney came out the kitchen with key in hand and wearing nothing.

“What bout yo conference?” I asked her.

“Baby, that was ova at 9. You’ve been out fo a minute, so I took the liberty to get you ready.” I looked down and noticed I was naked.

“Time out, I neva get handcuffed.” I stated.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

She got on top of me and sprayed whip cream on my chest and stomach. She then licked it off and started rubbin against me. When I got ready, she wasted no time putting it in. She rode for what felt like 30 minutes before taking off my cuffs. I tore it up afta dat.

The phone rang at about 8 that evening. I answered it.

“Hi, Daddy.” Tierra said happily.

“Hey, sweetie.” I said softly.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine, how bout you?”

“I’m fine. We’re havin a tournament in Knockout Kings. Grandpa and me are playing now. I just beat Kendal.”

“Are you winning?”

“No, he’s cheating.”

“Awww, don’t worry. Daddy will get him for ya.”

“Good, cuz he’s not playin fair at all.”

“So you ready for me to come get y’all?”

“I was hopin we could stay anotha night. Grandma is goin to let me help her make dinner and Grandpa was goin to show Kendal how to make a video game. Then he was goin to take us shoppin tomorrow.”

“That’s fine wit me, sweetie. It’s not like we’re missin y’all.”

“We don’t miss y’all eitha, big head.” She said. I could tell she was smiling.

“When do you want me to get you tomorrow?”

“Grandpa is goin to drop us off. He said he has to talk to you.”

“K. You have clothes?”

“Yes. Kendal has some too.”

“Anything else, young lady?”

“Uh uh, just wanted to say hi.”

“Thank you for callin.”

“Welcome. I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know when we’ll be there.”

“Sounds good.”

“Love you, Daddy.”

“Love you too, Netta.”

“Bye.”

“Bye princess.”

I hung up and started smiling. How did I get so lucky? A beautiful, smart daughter; a handsome, smart son (well, soon to be), and a gorgeous, smart, successful woman in my arms. How did this happen?

“Who was that?” Sydney asked.

“Tierra. They’re stayin anotha night, which is good because I don’t feel like getting up.”

“Wanna order a pizza?”

“Yea, that’s what’s good.” She got on the phone and called Dominos downstairs. My cell phone rang. “Wassup?” I answered.

“Is Tierra there with you?” Monique asked.

“Nah, she still at my parents.” I told her.

“Listen, I really need to talk to you. Is it possible you can meet me somewhere so we can have some privacy?”

“It is, but what do you need to talk to me about?”

“Our divorce terms. I want to get an agreement with you without goin through the courts.”

“Iight, meet me at my office in an hour.” I said, not enthusiastic about it.

“Thank you Kenny. See you in an hour.” I hung up wit her and looked at Sydney.

“Who was that?” She asked me.

“Monique.” I said sadly.

“What did she want?”

“To talk to me.” I noticed her facial expression change. “Sid, I won’t go if you don’t want me to.”

“No, no, she’s your ex and the motha of your child. I’m sure she has a good reason. Where are you meeting her at?”

“My office.” I heard a doorbell ring and answered it. It was the pizza. I paid for it and sat next to Sydney. “Listen, if you don’t want me to, just say so and I won’t.”

“Kenny,” she smiled, “I’m okay wit it. You know I’m not the jealous type, so I’m not expecting anything but talking. I trust you.” I kissed her and began eating.

“Baby, I’m sure it won’t take longer then an hour.”

“I’m not goin to wait for you. I have a flight to catch in 3 hours.”

“What?” I started choking. I beat my chest and forced it down. “What flight?”

“Remember, I told you I have to go to Chicago at midnight.”

“I didn’t know that was tonight.”

“I told you it was. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“So you’ll only be gone for about 20 hours.”

“If that long.”

“Iight, I guess I can live with it.” I kissed her and continued eating.

“I don’t know if I can stand being away from you for so long.”

“Does your brotha still live in Chi-Town?” I asked her.

“Yea, I’m goin to see him while I’m there.” She said.

“That’s good.”

We started talkin bout her brotha when her phone rang. When she got off, she started getting dressed.

“For some reason, my flight leaves in 90 mins. It takes 45 just to board, so I need to get ready.”

“You want me to drop you off?”

“Yea, I’d like that.” She kissed me and started looking for an outfit. “Maybe you should put some clothes on.” She laughed. I looked down noticing. I was still completely naked.

“Oh wow, I’m naked. You think I can get away with not wearing any close.” She gave me a funny look and then shook her head. “Me neither. I got up and went into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, I waited on Sydney to come down. I was in the car with her bags already loaded. She came out and got in. I started driving to the airport. When we got there, it was crowded like usual.

“I really don’t want to go, but unfortunately I have to.” Sydney started grabbing her bags and putting it on the belt.

“I know, baby, but it’s only for the night.” I assured her.

“I’m goin to miss you.” She said to me. I embraced her, enjoying the smell of her.

“I’m goin to miss you too.” I told her. She looked at me, really enjoying the comfort of being in my arms.

“Love you.” She started kissing me, like she wasn’t comin back.

“Love you too.” I started kissing her again.

“Okay, I’ll call you the second I touch down in Chi-Town.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

“K, let me go.”

“Iight.”

“Bye baby.”

“Bye.”

We kissed one more time, then I watched her leave. She blew me a kiss. I blew one back to her. When she was out of sight, I slowly made my way to the car. I started missing her already. I looked at our picture hanging from the rear view mirror. I started the car and drove to SJ Enterprise. I went to my CEO office and saw Monique through the window.

“So what’s goin on?” I said as I walked in.

“Your father told me the terms that take effect after I give birth to your child.” She began.

“Now I gotta stop you dare. You know damn well you’re not pregnant wit my child. We ain’t had sex in a long ass time. And you actin like you had nuttin to do wit any of dis.”

“This may seem like a shock, but I didn’t. Kenny, I’m not even pregnant. I didn’t ask for any more money. As expensive as Tierra is, I have enough to live on.”

“Wait a minute, you mean you ain’t had nuttin to do with the new terms?”

“It was all my father. He’s still soar you put him in jail. I told Kevin this and he thinks my dad will be kicked off the Board.”

“Ok, so what are your terms?”

“I just want to see my daughter as much as possible.”

“Listen, when the basketball season starts, Tierra is comin wit me to all my away games.” I could tell she didn’t like that. “But on home games, you can see her as much as you like.”

“Kenny, what happened to us?”

“Do we have to get into that?” I sat in my chair.

“My father set us up, but you still don’t want me. What happened?”

“You wanna know what happened, I’ll tell you what happened. Sydney happened. Sydney came back into my life and all thoughts bout getting back wit you faded.” I told her. She looked so sad.

“So you stopped lovin me.”

“No…as much as I want to, I can neva stop lovin you.”

When I said that, she stood up. She was wearing a short skirt with a matching “cleavage” shirt, still lookin good.

“Kenny, I think about you a lot.” She started walkin towards me, “and I know you’ll neva take me back.” She got on top of me. She had no draws on. “But the one thing I can probably have is you one last time.” She started kissing me. I pushed her back.

“I can’t do this. I’m with Sydney.” I buttoned my shirt back up. “I’m movin on.” She started unbuttoning her blouse. She had no bra on. Dem breast were lookin right.

“One last time, Kenny. For ol’time sakes.”

Man that sounds familiar. Last time she said that, I basically told her to blow it up her ass. Why is it different this time?

She started kissing me again. I wanted to stop, but the love, that I thought was too deep to be found, was back. I went along wit it. She unzipped my pants and slid em down. Before she did anything, I avoided settin myself up. I put on a condom that was in my drawer. She started ridin me for the first 20 mins. That’s when I took ova and beat it out like I neva have befo.

After it was all ova, Monique put her clothes back on. She looked at me.

“Kenny, promise me that we’ll remain friends.” She said. I finished buttoning my shirt.

“Yea, we’ll see.”

“I’ll uphold my terms set and I want you to know that my boyfriend will not be alone with her.”

“Thank you.” I walked up to her and hugged her, “never again.” I kissed her one last time. “Bye Monique.” I let her go and left. When I got in the car, Sydney called me.

“Hey baby, I’m here in Chicago.”

“That’s good. I started to worry.” I told her.

“I also want to tell you that I’ll be back around 2.”

“Good, I didn’t plan on wakin up til bout 1.”

“Like always. Where are you?” She asked.

“I’m on my way home”

“Guess who called me 10 mins afta I left?”

“Who?”

“Tierra.”

“Really? What she want?”

“Well, unlike her father, she remembered I was leaving, so she called to say bye. As well as Kendal.”

“That was nice of them.”

I pulled into the garage and went up to my room. We talked for about three hours before I had to let her go. After that, I lied down and thought to myself. How could I let things go as far as it did? Am I still in need of Monique? Honestly, I don’t know what to do, but if I don’t tell Sydney, it will eat me alive.